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Re: Choosing Synthetic Reeds (Legree)

Author: nata
Date: 2015-02-01 08:06

Hello everyone!

Many thanks to those that replied!

In response to some questions posed to me:

I initially played on a stock buffet mouthpiece with a Rovner ligature. The 3.5 reeds worked well.

Then, I changed my mouthpiece to the Vandoren M-15. I still played on the rovner ligature, and the reeds worked well. Then, after I swapped to a Vandoren Optimum ligature, I could not find the appropriate response from my 3.5 reeds.

I switched to a 3, and it works perfectly now.

My reasons for considering synthetic reeds are the following:

1- they are reputed to have a longer life... meaning I do not have to have a hassle with cane reeds

2- they are easy to clean. I am starting to hate practicing because of an icky feeling in my throat each time I finish. yuck. The ReedJuvinate system has the potential to fix this. I know some players have weird mixtures of hydrogen perioxide or listerine with water, but experimenting with this is not my cup of tea.

3- they are more durable. I played once outdoors, and my cane reeds didn't work as ideally

4- they are reliable. I was playing a major solo when a reed let me down. My solo was a "squeak-squeak-squeak." Needless to say, I felt really shamed.

I have to confess that I am a high school clarinet player, and I thus have no idea as to how to adjust reeds and I do not have the time for it.
However, I have taken a look at the ATG Reed Finishing System, and I am intrigued by it- especially its ability to do this in a few minutes.

I have a 'redneck' way of breaking in reeds.... pick it up, and play! Then let it rest and play again! However, my shift to 3 reeds from 3.5 was caused AFTER I had taken the time to break in the reeds.

Any more advice is greatly appreciated.

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